Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Members of Congress returned to work Wednesday, relieved that President Obama called off a vote on military action in Syria.

The Senate ended its consideration of a resolution authorizing military force against the Syrian government.

During his address from the East Room of the White House on Tuesday night, the President did not say how long he would wait to see if President Bashar al-Assad relinquishes control of the weapons that he used to gas his own people, and he did not detail the steps that the United States would demand from Syria as proof that the diplomatic efforts were more than a delaying tactic to avoid a bomber strike.

There’s been a lot of talk about whether Congress will pass a budget by the end of this month or let the government shut down.

Here’s what a shutdown would mean:

Nearly all federal programs and the people they work for would suffer. We’re talking delayed military pay and veterans’ benefits. Shutting down Head Start centers, and Meals on Wheels programs. Delayed applications for new Social Security enrollments, and loans for students and small businesses.

One thing is clear: Shutting down the government will hurt the American people.

When some members of Congress talk about a government shutdown, they frame it as a practical bargaining chip.

A government shutdown will shutter crucial services the American people depend on and wreak havoc with our economy.

President Obama has put forth a smart plan for the budget, and he’s said he’s willing to hear new ideas from people on both sides of the aisle. The budget Congress passes needs to continue to grow the economy from the middle out.

Our elected officials shouldn’t use the economy, the budget, or the threat of taking away health care from millions of Americans to score political points. Add your name now, and tell Congress to avoid a government shutdown and pass a smart budget: http://my.barackobama.com/Pass-a-Budget

On October 19, “Gun Rights Across America” is planning a nationwide event this called “Guns Next Door,” to prove to the world that gun owners are just normal, law-abiding folks.

The plan, it seems, involves sitting on one’s front lawn with a gun and offering neighborhood children candy… which is obviously the best way to prove to any rational person that you are not a creepy weirdo.

So all we’re asking for is one hour of your time. Arm yourselves (legally), and make your presence known across America. This is an extremely easy way to support the 2nd Amendment, and protect our rights. Feel free to hold up signs in your yards for the passing motorists. “Obama must go, Save the 2nd, Molon Labe,” etc. Pass out candy or lemonade to the kids riding their bikes, and playing in the neighborhoods. This is your chance America! Your chance to take action by just giving one hour of your time, your chance to make a statement, your chance to defeat an anti-gun agenda!

Molon labe? Yep, nothing will get kids on your side like yelling at them in a foreign language!

President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain in a press conference, taking place on March 4, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Congressional vote on whether to strike Syria offers insight into which wing of the Republican Party — the traditional hawks or a growing bloc of non-interventionists — has the advantage in foreign policy debates.

Republican divisions on national security have flared over drone use, aid to Egypt, and the National Security Agency surveillance practices. Tensions have played out in battles between Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. In a rare moment of clarity, Sen. McCain called Mr. Paul and his compatriots “wacko birds.” In return, Mr. Paul suggested that hawks like Mr. McCain were “moss covered.”

Former spats could pale in comparison with the fight over whether to attack Syria, an issue on which Sen. McCain and Sen. Paul will be the leading spokesmen for their party’s two wings.

Mr. McCain has long advocated intervention in Syria’s civil war. After meeting with President Obama at the White House on Monday, he said that it would be “catastrophic” if Congress did not approve the president’s proposal and that such a rejection would result in the United States’s credibility being “shredded.”

Mr. Paul on Sunday made clear his opposition to Mr. Obama’s proposal, taking to Twitter and the talk shows to taunt Secretary of State John Kerry. “John Kerry is, you know, he’s famous for saying, you know, how can you ask a man to be the last one to die for a mistake?” Mr. Paul said. “I would ask John Kerry, how can you ask a man to be the first one to die for a mistake?”

Mr. Paul is very aware that the vote offers just that chance to reorient the Republican center on foreign affairs, and the debate gives him the chance to re-establish himself as the voice of the Tea Party movement.

Syria has important implications for the 2016 Republican presidential contest. White House hopefuls in Congress will be forced to choose between the wishes of Tea Party activists opposed to a strike and the wishes of more traditional Republicans, whose ranks include some major donors and Israel supporters. A “yea” vote on taking action in Syria would put opponents of Sen. Paul, like Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, on the same side as Pres. Obama.

Four Russian non-governmental organizations told BuzzFeed Monday they had been invited to the meeting, scheduled for this Thursday at St. Petersburg’s Crowne Plaza Hotel. The groups include veteran human rights activists Lev Ponomarev and Lyudmila Alexeyeva, legal aid NGO director Pavel Chikov, and Coming Out, a St. Petersburg-based LGBT organization. Another local LGBT group, the LGBT Network, is believed to be attending, though director Igor Kochetkov declined to comment to BuzzFeed, saying that he had been “asked not to say anything.”

On Monday, the general of the Free Syrian Army, which is fighting Syrian PresidentBashar Assad’s regime, said his group understands and supports President Barack Obama’s decision to seek authorization for military intervention in Syria from Congress.

“We support President Obama’s decision to go to the Congress to get authorization to carry out strikes against the Syrian regime, and we understand really the decision-making mechanism in the democratic countries and realize that congressional support for the decision will make it stronger and more effective, and we hope it will encourage other friendly countries to participate in the international campaign against the regime,” Idris said.

Idris said he understands the decision may take days or weeks, but he fears bloodshed in that time. The Syrian general also denied that if the U.S. were to send weapons directly to the rebels, they could end up in the hands of Al Qaeda. He said only a small fraction of rebel fighters in the country work with terrorist groups, and the Syrian Free Army does not coöperate with them. Idris said he would give “any kind of guarantee” that aid from the U.S. would only go to the right hands.